Awkward/Awesome...

Awkward...

...the stomach flu =(

...getting two different friends birthday gifts every year for a over a decade, and not realizing until today that they are the SAME AGE and have the SAME BIRTHDAY

...going through old photos and realizing that even at three years old my little brother was still the most photogenic out of my whole family

...being told by aforesaid brother that I shouldn't refer to him as my "little brother" anymore because he's now a full head and shoulders taller than me...too bad, brother, you're the baby of the family, you're stuck with it =P

...the look of betrayal I got from Mishka when I ate roast chicken without giving her a single piece

...my family and I looking through our passport photos taken about eight years ago...oh, sweet mercy, DID WE REALLY LOOK LIKE THAT?

Awesome...

...friends who turn decorating for a wedding into a spontaneous dance party

...not enough wall space in my room for all the pictures I want to put up...just too many lovely memories ;)

...reading out on the trampoline, when a little bird landed next to me and stared at me for several seconds before flying off again

...planning our first ever family vacation (!)

...re-reading "Catholic Prophecy" by Ives Dupont for the umpteenth time

...being at home by myself and singing "Mamma Mia" karaoke as loud as I want without disturbing anyone

...my brother's response when my mother asked him if he had been plucking his eyebrows: "Me? Heck, no, my eyebrows are awesome..." =)

...bee-u-ti-ful weather and sunny days all week long

...my favorite couple finally getting married and looking so adorably happy together! 

I hope you all have a blessed week and a lovely Mother's Day! =)

Little Things I'm Grateful For...

Hello Everyone!

These past few weeks have been ve-ry hectic for my family, so I haven't been able to blog very much =(.  Last night we got back from yet another road trip and are now gearing up for my friend's wedding this weekend, after which we are going to take a much-needed vacation to a resort in Missouri...

When I woke up this morning (finally in my own bed with my favorite quilt again) I realized there are so many little things that I forget to be grateful for every day, but that I would miss terribly if they weren't there.  I'm the kind of person who likes routine; change is fine in small amounts, but I like my days to usually follow the same basic pattern, and when that pattern changes, I feel disoriented.  Things like being awakened the same way every morning by my brother on the piano, my other brother greeting me with "Gooooddddd morning! Did you sleep?", the same bird calls outside my window, and the same familiar sights every time I go for a walk just make my whole day brighter.  Going on trips is fun and exciting, but for me coming home to your own house, your own bed, and (in my case) your amazing-kitchen-that-you-still-cannot-find-enough-words-to-express-your-gratitude-for is the best part.  It's cliche, but there really is no place like home (especially if your home has an amazing kitchen with a double oven and blue cabinets =P).

 

Bridal Shower...

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a very blessed Easter...mine was very peaceful, thank heavens! Easter week was my time to take a breather and gear up for my very busy next few months, which began this past Saturday.  A dear friend of mine is getting married in May, so I offered to host a bridal shower for her to give her one more chance to relax before her "big day".

One of the bridesmaids enlisted the help of the groom to get a surprise present from all the ladies in our community: a beautiful statue of Our Lady for the couple's new home...the statue hadn't arrived by the time of the shower, so she printed out a picture to show her what it looked like.

The lovely Bride-To-Be and two of her bridesmaids

In addition to several flavors of tea, we also served sparkling lemonade, blueberry pound cake, deviled eggs, several dips, strawberry macaroons, and several other goodies (for the record, at my bridal shower I would like pizza and root beer =))

I'm not entirely sure how we managed to fit everyone in our living room (we had over forty-five ladies of all ages attending) but somehow there were enough chairs and even a tiny amount of room to walk around.

Some friends provided games to play after tea, my favorite being "Bridal Trivia" (I had never heard this before, but apparently the custom of having groomsmen came about because so many brides used to be kidnapped on their wedding day that the groom would gather the best swordsmen he knew to guard her until the ceremony was over! The best man was the best swordsman out of all of them...and bridesmaids were there to confuse the kidnappers in hope that they would be captured instead of the bride =)).

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, so I'd say the party was a success.  After everyone else left, one of my little friends stayed behind to help me finish off the extra lemonade and take silly pictures while our moms visited...

When my mom and I (finally) had our home back to ourselves, we celebrated our success with some Pink Lady Cocktails and a "Once Upon A Time" episode...=)

Sweetsome Sundays...Argentinean Ricotta Cake

Happy Palm Sunday everyone!

(This piece looks more flat because it broke in half while my brother was taking a picture and he just kind of squished it back together: the actual cake had a more rounded top)

The recipe for this cake came from a good friend of ours in California (Hi Faby😜!), and I would have made it a while ago if my new spring form pan had not taken over *three* weeks to get here...I'd never even heard of a normal ricotta cake, let alone the Argentinean version, so I was pretty curious to see how it would turn out, and, people, this cake was deeelicious! Imagine blending a cheesecake with doughnuts and then dusting it all with powdered sugar...and it happens to be really simple to make, so double win! We ate half this cake for my brother's feast day on Saturday and then the rest of it on Sunday (I actually ate my piece for breakfast😊); it just keeps getting better the longer you refrigerate it.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups Self Rising Flour (for grain-free version, use 11/4th cup Almond Flour, 1/2 cup Arrowroot Flour, 1/4th cup Coconut Flour, and three tsp Baking Power)
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 10 Tbs Butter
• 1 Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk
• 2 Tbs Milk/Cream

Filling:

• 35 ounces Ricotta Cheese
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 2 Tbs Milk/Cream
• Zest from one lemon
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract 

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter a spring-form pan.  Combine the dough ingredients in a food processor and mix till combined.   If it is too dry, you can add a little more cream/milk.  Take half the dough mixture and spread it out over the bottom and up the sides of the spring-form pan to form a sort of bowl, then set aside.  Mix all the filling ingredients together in a glass bowl with a hand mixer (or a fork; it works just as well) until combined.  Pour filling into dough.  Roll out the remaining dough into a circle and use it to cover the rest of the cake, sealing the edges as best you can.  Bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes, until top is golden brown.  Once done, dust the top with powdered sugar and refrigerate before serving.

Have a lovely week!

Awkward/Awesome

Awkward...

...making a big deal about a friend who spilt a little root beer on our floor (all in good fun), and then spilling a whole cup full myself

...an eight year old one-upping me by doing double flips on the trampoline

...singing Christine's part in  "The Phantom of the Opera" title song on our hayride, but starting out waaayyy too high and ending up just screeching

...not getting to bed before midnight for weeks and having dark circles under my eyes that no amount of makeup will conceal

...re-reading the "Maze Runner"series, and bothering my brothers with all my outbursts about how the movie ruined the story

...the feasts of St. Benedict and The Annunciation being moved to after Easter...I mean,we only get a few days off during Lent and taking one away just isn't fair...

...mooorrreee car trouble...groan...

...realizing that soy sauce did have wheat in it and that's why I've felt so bad all month...you LIED, Japanese guy from Whole Foods...

Awesome..

...cinnamon honey face masks

...sneaking into the kitchen with one of my Munchkins to have maraschino cherries while everyone else isn't looking =)

...Coldplay's newest album FINALLY being released on Spotify

...teaching my brother how to swing dance

...having long, deep conversations with my brothers' friends about the morality of the "Hunger Games"movies

...lovely weather for our St. Patrick's Day party

...trying a new conditioner in my hair that smelled like Papayas and Oranges, and my youngest brother following me around the house saying "THAT SMELLS SOOO GOOD...

Have a lovely weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope you all had a blessed feast day! We went all out on the decorations this year...tulle, bows, leprechaun hats, shamrock ears; even Mishka had a sparkly bow.

Every year we have a party to celebrate with our friends and take a short break from our Lenten Fasting...my brother's Shamrock Punch is always one our traditional beverages, along with corned beef, guacamole, and brownies...mmmmm...

Our new kitchen is perfect for parties; there was plenty of room for everyone to get their food without stepping on each other for once...

As always, the trampoline was immensely popular =).  We had several new additions to the "Munchkins" this year, and while they were all a little shy around each other at first, there's something about bouncing on a trampoline that makes instant friends.

Between the hay ride, campfire, delicious food, conversation, playing pool, and spontaneous dancing, everyone had a lovely time...I got to spend the whole day surrounded by all my little friends, so, yep, I was one happy lady =P...

Have a lovely weekend! =)

Wednesday Reading...

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Hope you find these articles as interesting as I did =)...

Tips For taking Your Lifestyle Blog to the Next Level from Lauren Conrad.com...I found this to be very informative and am planning to use some of these tips myself in the future.

Ten Things To Do Every Sunday For A More Productive Week...from Daily Dose of Design...Personally, I will be doing these on Saturdays, because I try not to do any unnecessary work on Sundays, but these are all really great tips =).

The Wife List from Good Guy Swag (LOVED this!)

The Husband List  from She Is More

Strollers, Baby Carriers, and Infant Spinal Development from Welcome Baby